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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kid — child
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a line of people
  15. craft — boats
  16. file — a document
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. ground — a position
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. craft — a skill
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com